In The Summertime (When The Weather Is Hot)
by RocketRaccoon15
Summary: It's exhausting when you're the 'parents' of overgrown children. That's why Peter and Gamora decide to take a little R&R. (Starmora Week 2018 - Day 1: Summer Trip)


_The beach_. Sounds of palm tree leaves brushing together from the light breeze and the soft roar of waves fill the air. It's peaceful and they're the only ones there...well, as in Gamora and Peter. The others left to restock the ship. Having enough of the ruckus caused by Drax and Rocket, Peter suggested that he and Gamora needed some time away. So, here they were: the 'parents' of their dysfunctional family, walking hand-in-hand through the white, fine-grained sand. They walk to shore and set their belongings down. Gamora strips off a loose, white romper, revealing a black, off the shoulder, ruffled bikini. By the time she neatly folds up her romper and places it on top of her towel, Peter has already torn off his shirt and beaten her to the water.

A soft smile creeps upon Gamora's lips as she watches Peter pop out of the water with her arms across her chest.

As Peter turns around, his eyes widen. Gamora was absolutely gorgeous in her suit and intricately braided hair. "Woah."

The emerald color of the woman's complexion darkens as she shifts her gaze somewhere else. She bites her bottom lip in an attempt to prevent her small smile from growing.

"You gonna come in or-?" Peter asks after a few minutes in silence, the only sound emerging from the waves.

Gamora quickly scans her surroundings, taking in the peacefulness of everything. There's no litter. No people. It's only the two of them. Unlike most beaches, this one isn't polluted. It's very preserved and seems like the inhabitants of the planet are very dedicated to protecting their environment. It's _peaceful_.

The ex-assassin takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, breathing in the scent of the ocean water. "Go on without me!" She finally calls back, opening her eyes. "I'm gonna stay here!" With that, she grabs her towel from underneath her romper and lays it out on the sand. She hears Peter swimming back to shore.

"Well, if you're gonna stay here, might as well turn on some tunes." He suggests, walking towards his go-to grey, short-sleeved shirt and pulling out his Zune from underneath, along with one of the portable speakers Rocket had built. As Gamora turns his back to him once again, Peter searches for a song he'd discovered not to long ago. An allegro instrumental fades in from the speaker.

For some odd reason, Gamora isn't sitting down on the towel she'd laid out for herself. Instead, she's gazing off into the ocean with what appeared to be curiosity in her eyes. Maybe, she never swam for fun while under Thanos' control. Maybe, she doesn't know what it's like to swim without fearing for your life. That's when Peter hatches an idea.

Without a word, Peter creeps up behind Gamora, who's still lost in thought, and scoops her up into his arms. "PETER!" Gamora tries to fight off the urge to giggle as Peter continues to run to the end of the shallow-end of the ocean before propelling them into the deep-end.

Peter lets her go, allowing her to swim back to the surface. He follows suit, earning a glare from the woman. "What?" The ex-Ravanger is prepared for a smack upside the head, or another lecture. What he isn't prepared for is a large splash of water to be hurled at his face. He blinks in surprise, noticing Gamora's slight chuckle. "Oh, it's on."

 _'_ _And every day that you want to waste, that you want to waste, you can_

 _And every day that you want to wake up, and you want to wake, you can_

 _And every day that you want to change, that you want to change, yeah_

 _I'll help you see it through 'cause I just really want to be with you'_

After a few hours of splashing wars, Peter and Gamora finally decide to head back to shore. As they dry off, they watch the sunset together. They talk for what could've been hours. The next thing they know, the sun has finally set and the stars are lighting up the night sky.

In the moment, all Peter can think about is how the girl he's fallen in love with is seated right next to him, sharing his body heat, with a smile that is too big to hide. It isn't until he feels an added weight on his shoulder that he notices Gamora had finished putting her romper back on. He wraps an arm around her as she nuzzles further into him. After planting a lingering kiss to the top of her head, Peter begins to rub his hand up and down her arm.

"Peter?" Her voice is so quiet, he barely hears her.

"Yeah?" The man turns his head towards hers, noticing the way her body is slightly shivering as he shrugs off his jacket and drapes it loosely over her shoulders.

"Thank you for showing me this." With that, she feels her eyes getting heavy and allows herself to drift off in Peter's loving arms.


End file.
